A Wardrobe from God
Today we can find ourselves looking into the eyes of the church in many places. The religious symbolism in the classic book The Chronicles of Narnia the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe written by C. S Lewis later turned into a movie can be thought of as a fun and exciting movie or a gateway to another view on the Bible and the people in it. In Narnia it follows the story of Jesus’s journey leading up to his death and resurrection. As well as the people around him. Religion symbolism plays a big part in the movie. I helps us understand the church and its stories better through a classic tale. Symbolism can be found anywhere in the world. There are many characters in the movie that can be thought as religious people. Aslan being portrayed as Jesus and the children that he comes to love are all religion symbols for the Bible and its reflection on the story.
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Though in the story he mainly resembles Jesus and his journey. When you first meet Aslan you see a leader and a king. When Aslan goes to meet with the white in the woods he asks Lucy and Susan to stay behind and wait. This resembles the story in the Bible when Jesus goes to pray upon the hill and asks his disciples to stay behind. Aslan shows the same bravery that Jesus had to have his life taken from him for the sake of others. Aslan When he agrees to the dea with the queen to protect another life for the coast of his own he then has his mane cut off and action. This is supposed to represent the pain that Jesus went through and the mockery that became of him with his crown of thorns for the “king.” And finally when Alsan finally dies he comes back to life to bring salvation to Narnia. This represents the resurrection of Jesus to spread the word of
In all novels, symbolism is a key element that authors use to heighten the literary merit of their writing. In The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis uses symbolism as a driving force throughout the series. Without the use of likeliness of Christian figures, Lewis’ series would lack deep literary meaning. The wide variety of symbols and literary devices used in these books successfully evoke deep thought and inspires readers to analyze the work further.
In his novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis uses the archetype of the hero and the symbol of the stone table to convey Christianity to his readers. The archetype of the hero represents a main character, Aslan. Aslan was created by Lewis to reflect the biblical figure of Jesus Christ. Jesus and Aslan portray the characteristics of the hero by the deeds they perform both in the bible and in the novel.
Lewis intended for Aslan to basically be God to the creatures of Narnia. There is much to summarize about this tremendous book, but I will only speak about comparing and contrasting God and Aslan. How are they similar? Both Aslan and God created worlds, which means that they both rule their worlds as well. Aslan and God formed the worlds by speaking.
Aslan was the two lions chasing Shasta and Bree, and he was the cat at the tomb protecting Shasta. He disappeared when he told Shasta’s story. God could make certain things happen, such as he could save you from a lion. God can quickly control anything he would like. Isaiah 40:26 states “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all of these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” “God want his disciples to rise to heaven. Aslan like God, wants his people to rise to greatness. This is the book when Aslan symbolize as
is he? I believe Aslan represents God, because they share some similarities, but they do have
Then there's Aslan, the son of the Emperor and the true king of Narnia. Aslan symbolizes all that is good and stands for a literal representation of Jesus Christ. When Jadis comes to speak with Aslan, she comes demanding Edmund, the son of Adam. She cites the Emperors deep magic, which states that traitors must forfeit their lives to her. However, Aslan feels responsible for the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. Thus, he trades places with Edmund and sacrifices his own life to atone for Edmunds sins. When Aslan died, “he was really a mass of cords”, bound to a stone table. At this point, it becomes clear that Lewis is drawing parallels between Aslan’s sacrifice and Christ's Crucifixion. This is evident because like Aslan, Christ sacrifices his own life, and was bound to a cross when he died for the sins of others. In addition to Christ's crucifixion, Aslan rebirth into Narnia can be directly related to the resurrection of Jesus. Lewis creates this illusion through Aslan, when he says that “a willing victim who had committed no treachery is killed in a traitor’s stead, Death itself would start working
The philosophy of C.S Lewis depicts his others reading by scrutinizing the text and manipulating it in a sense that the true message is hidden. In the Chronicles of Narnia he he unrolls the concepts of the tri-lemma by using the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In the movie a single-line portrayal of God comes right when the siblings are in the Beaver's dam. Lucy inquires as to whether Aslan is protected, and Beaver answers, "Safe? Obviously he isn't! . . .
Lewis personifies animals in this story to convey messages of sacrifice, resurrection, and Christianity. Lewis uses the archetype of good vs evil and an archetype of confession to convey to his readers Christianity in the novel. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; the White Witch and Aslan are characters representing an archetype of good vs evil. The book is a representation of the Bible, but as
Aslan, in the Chronicles of Narnia, represents Jesus for many reasons. One main reason is that Aslan gives his life to save Edmund in the same way that Jesus sacrificed his own life to save us. Edmund was known as a traitor and the only way to remove that label was to get blood. Similarly, the only way to pay the price of sin is for a sinless person to die. Aslan’s death itself parallels Jesus’. When Aslan gives himself up for Edmund, the White Witch has him tied up and bound to the table, which is meant for a traitor. All the creatures on her side mock and beat Aslan. The White Witch calls him “Aslan the Great”. In the same way, Jesus gives up his life for us. He is nailed to a cross, which is meant for a criminal, mocked and beaten. A sign
Authors use literary devices as tools throughout their novels, each in a variety of situations, serving various purposes. One of C.S Lewis ' notable attributes was his consistent use of religion throughout his work. Which thus begs the question: What is the literary function of religious allegory in the novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S Lewis?
In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe we discover a world of fantasy filled with the never-ending battle between good and evil. The children in the story, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy lived in London during the war and were sent to live with a professor because of the air-raids. The children quickly find a wardrobe, which is actually a passageway into the land of Narnia. Unbeknownst to them they are the son’s of Adam and the daughter’s of Eve that according to a prophecy will restore peace to Narnia and do away
C. S. Lewis, a well-known author and apologist, is best known by people of all
The symbolism between C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the fourth book in The Chronicles of Narnia, and the New Testament in the Bible, particularly the account of Jesus’ death is not merely coincidental because The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is, in fact, an allegory. An allegory is a story with morals in which characters, plots and settings are used as symbols. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis is rich with Christian symbolism even though the allegorical nature of it is the subject of much controversy. Nonetheless, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is an allegory. In this tale, four ordinary children find a wardrobe that leads them into Narnia, an extraordinary land parallel to our universe
I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion, the lion, the great lion.”” (Lewis 86). Aslan is an important character that many Narnians rely on to save them from the clutches of the White Witch, the current “ruler” of Narnia.
In C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis emphasizes the three points of philosophy, themes, and symbolism throughout his writing. Lewis was a strong Christian man, and wanted to make children see and understand all the stories of the Bible. Therefore, he put Christian elements through his books, but with fantasy characters as well. Especially in this story, Lewis conveys the differences between good and evil. Aslan is represented as Christ just as the White Witch represents the sense of evil. Lewis wrote several books in this Narnia series, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe became the most famous and recognized of his novels.